grist for the mill

A Cosby show we should listen to: "Right about now some folks in reader land are calling Cosby an Uncle Tom for pointing to the huge elephant in the room that everyone pretends not to see.
While it is fair criticism to say Cosby generalized in his comments, he also seized on a boulder -- forget a grain -- of truth. It's about time someone with clout delivered a hard punch line, emphasis on punch.
Call it tough love.
Cosby, who earned a doctorate in education, is breaking from shackles of political correctness to sound the alarm for a certain segment of black America.
Notice I said 'certain' -- not all.
This particular segment has wrapped itself in a comfy blanket of victimhood, conspicuous consumption and the sensibility that 'the man' is culpable for all that is wrong.
If Cosby were white, he'd be called a racist for saying what he did. His message, though, could just have easily applied to other groups, including Latinos in the inner city or poor whites. By several statistical measures -- poverty, education, health and crime -- they, too, are in dire straits."